ShoogarBear
10-26-2007, 11:31 PM
http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=7268695
Brown County
Survivor of Costume Fire Shares His Story
Oct 26, 2007 01:06 PM
By Sarah Thomsen
Hoping to prevent Halloween accidents, the Brown County Sheriff's Department released dramatic surveillance video of a Pulaski man on fire. That man shared his story, in hopes of saving someone else from going through the pain he suffered.
The dramatic surveillance video serves as a warning as we near Halloween that costumes and fire don't mix. Last year, Justin Destarkey made a sheep costume out of cotton balls and glue, then headed to Chamber Hills bar in Howard.
For reasons that were undetermined, Destarkey's costume ignited. In the blink of an eye he was engulfed in fire. You can see people running in all directions to get away from him.
The sheriff's department says this should serve as a warning to either buy flame-retardant costumes or make fire-safe homemade ones.
"If you're in a crowded area, where you're in close proximity to other people, make sure they're flame retardant," Chief Deputy John Gossage said.
"It's very frightening and very real because it happened so quickly, and it shows you how quickly like that can happen and the tragedy involved in that," Gossage said.
"You never think something like this is going to happen," Destarkey said, and he doesn't want to see anyone else get hurt. He wakes up daily with scars on 45 percent of his body, reminding him of the night he decided to dress up as a cotton-ball sheep to match his girlfriend's costume.
"We were all sitting at my parents' house joking around, 'Boy, hope that thing don't catch on fire,' and I'm like, 'I hope it doesn't either.' Kind of like, well, no, it won't happen to me."
Destarkey remembers vividly what happened just a few hours after he said that.
"All of a sudden, all I remember, looking up at the karaoke DJ lady and her eyes just got huge and I kind of looked, and looked behind me, and I just seen a flame coming over the top of my head, and I panicked. I didn't know what to do, so I turned and ran."
"And I remember holding my arms up like this and the skin was just falling down like burnt plastic, just sizzles down, and I just screamed, 'Who did this to me?'"
Destarkey spent six weeks in a Milwaukee burn unit undergoing at least three surgeries. His hands are skin-grafted and you can still see the marks where his socks were. He pulled through it with the help of benefits and support from family and friends.
"The doctor told me I was a miracle child," Destarkey said.
He hopes sharing his story will serve as a lesson to others.
"I hope people do learn from this as an experience because it's not even just a Halloween thing, it's everything. Being burnt is one of the most painful experiences I went through. I wouldn't want anyone else, not even my worst enemy, to go through something like that."
The owners of the Chambers Hill bar say this year they'll have a bouncer at the door watching peoples' costumes. They say if there are any like Destarkeys or any they think could pose a danger, they'll ask the person to remove the costume before entering.
Brown County
Survivor of Costume Fire Shares His Story
Oct 26, 2007 01:06 PM
By Sarah Thomsen
Hoping to prevent Halloween accidents, the Brown County Sheriff's Department released dramatic surveillance video of a Pulaski man on fire. That man shared his story, in hopes of saving someone else from going through the pain he suffered.
The dramatic surveillance video serves as a warning as we near Halloween that costumes and fire don't mix. Last year, Justin Destarkey made a sheep costume out of cotton balls and glue, then headed to Chamber Hills bar in Howard.
For reasons that were undetermined, Destarkey's costume ignited. In the blink of an eye he was engulfed in fire. You can see people running in all directions to get away from him.
The sheriff's department says this should serve as a warning to either buy flame-retardant costumes or make fire-safe homemade ones.
"If you're in a crowded area, where you're in close proximity to other people, make sure they're flame retardant," Chief Deputy John Gossage said.
"It's very frightening and very real because it happened so quickly, and it shows you how quickly like that can happen and the tragedy involved in that," Gossage said.
"You never think something like this is going to happen," Destarkey said, and he doesn't want to see anyone else get hurt. He wakes up daily with scars on 45 percent of his body, reminding him of the night he decided to dress up as a cotton-ball sheep to match his girlfriend's costume.
"We were all sitting at my parents' house joking around, 'Boy, hope that thing don't catch on fire,' and I'm like, 'I hope it doesn't either.' Kind of like, well, no, it won't happen to me."
Destarkey remembers vividly what happened just a few hours after he said that.
"All of a sudden, all I remember, looking up at the karaoke DJ lady and her eyes just got huge and I kind of looked, and looked behind me, and I just seen a flame coming over the top of my head, and I panicked. I didn't know what to do, so I turned and ran."
"And I remember holding my arms up like this and the skin was just falling down like burnt plastic, just sizzles down, and I just screamed, 'Who did this to me?'"
Destarkey spent six weeks in a Milwaukee burn unit undergoing at least three surgeries. His hands are skin-grafted and you can still see the marks where his socks were. He pulled through it with the help of benefits and support from family and friends.
"The doctor told me I was a miracle child," Destarkey said.
He hopes sharing his story will serve as a lesson to others.
"I hope people do learn from this as an experience because it's not even just a Halloween thing, it's everything. Being burnt is one of the most painful experiences I went through. I wouldn't want anyone else, not even my worst enemy, to go through something like that."
The owners of the Chambers Hill bar say this year they'll have a bouncer at the door watching peoples' costumes. They say if there are any like Destarkeys or any they think could pose a danger, they'll ask the person to remove the costume before entering.